For most Virginia student-athletes, balancing academics and varsity sports is enough to fill a calendar. But for Shelby Bavin, a junior coxswain on the women's rowing team, life includes one more high-stakes commitment — firefighting.
Her nights end in turnout gear, racing to respond to emergencies as a volunteer firefighter, while her mornings begin on the Rivanna Reservoir directing Virginia's crews through intense practices. But whether she is calling the final sprint of a 2K or suiting up for a structure fire, Bavin's drive — and trust in the people beside her — makes her a vital teammate, in every sense of the word.
Having grown up next to the Potomac River in Alexandria, Va., Bavin was surrounded by a large rowing culture — after seeing her older brother start rowing when he entered high school, she decided to give it a try in eighth grade, when her local team allowed it. For the next four years, Bavin dedicated her life to being the best she could be as a men's team coxswain for both Alexandria City Titan Rowing and Old Dominion Boat Club. During that time, she earned two state championship medals and competed at SRAA national championships.
After coming to the University, Bavin knew that she wanted to make an impact on another community in addition to the rowing team, and joined the Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department at Albemarle County Station 8 back in November 2023, after hearing about it from a good friend who was actively firefighting at the time. Since then, she has logged nearly 1,400 hours of service as both a firefighter and an Emergency Medical Technician.
On average, active University student volunteers at Station 8 clock around 100 hours per month, and Bavin is no exception. That, combined with an academic course load, is an impressively packed schedule. Between her weekly 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. overnight shifts on Wednesdays, 6:25 a.m. morning practices and a full academic course load, Bavin's calendar is often full from dawn till midnight.
While many students seek to decompress in breaks between commitments, Bavin finds balance by leaning into hers.
“Going to the fire station is a way for me to decompress from school,” Bavin said. “And rowing is a way for me to decompress from school. And then, getting to the station, I can take my mind off rowing, and being at the boat house I can take my mind off bad calls I might have sat on. I think in a way, the three things balance each other, because they're all so different.”
Bavin does not see her ultra-packed schedule as a sacrifice — rather, it gives her purpose. For Bavin, this is a mindset which connects to her time with Virginia rowing. The Cavaliers are focused on success, of course, but it is always a success which is earned through grit, toughness and a love of community.
“The quote we have above our boathouse door, which is ‘Entitled to nothing, grateful for everything,’ is the thing that speaks to the values of our team the most.” Bavin said.
In both firefighting and rowing, trust is required — sometimes even blind faith. Whether it is entering a burning building with someone new or lining up with an unfamiliar crew on race day, Bavin says both rowing and firefighting demand confidence in others’ training, instincts and commitment.
As a coxswain, Bavin is the eyes and ears for her boat. As the rowers all face backwards, Bavin needs to be on high alert for obstacles in her path and do her best to communicate to her rowers what is happening around them in terms of where they sit in comparison to competitors and how many meters remain. Her volunteer experience as an EMT and firefighter require that same type of focus — Bavin must be ready to delegate tasks when running head on into an emergency, whether that involves rushing to fight a fire or helping a patient going through cardiac arrest.
“You may not have always worked with the people you get put on a [firefighting] crew with but you’re trusting the training they have received and that they can do the job,” Bavin said. “Rowing is like that too — sometimes lineups change, and you have to adapt and trust that everyone is rowing the same stroke even though you may not have rowed with them before. The coxswain facilitates that faith.”
Trust and culture go hand-in-hand at Station 8, where the team-oriented environment mirrors what Bavin values on the water. Charlie Murphy, a second-year College student who started volunteering at Station 8 last spring, said that this dynamic is central to what makes firefighting — and Bavin — so impactful.
“[Bavin] has absolutely stepped in and embraced the family-like culture of the station,” Murphy said. “Which is extremely impressive given that she's balancing this whole other life that a lot of us don't have.”
Bavin strives to be the best she can be, both for herself and those relying on her, in every situation she puts herself in. She makes sure to give it her all so that, in time, the people around her will trust her — and in return, the effort she puts in allows her to trust her support systems.
Bavin's story is not defined by any one role she plays, but by the extraordinary way she plays all of them — with intention, resilience and a deep commitment to supporting those around her.
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